


It's a date

by SeaOfClouds



Category: The LEGO Movie (2014), The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (2019)
Genre: All Human AU, Alternate Universe - Diners, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Emmet and Rex are different people AU, First Kiss, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Motorcycles, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-09 14:37:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18919009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeaOfClouds/pseuds/SeaOfClouds
Summary: Emmet overhears something he shouldn't have.Rex deals with the consequences.





	It's a date

Emmet _loved_ his job.

He’d managed to get the position as a waiter here at _Lucy’s Diner_ only a few months ago, thanks to him just so happening to be good friends with the owner... Lucy. She had opened the diner as a throw-back to classic eighties dining, complete with retro aesthetic and themed food, after many years of complaining that places like this no longer existed.

It was a surprising hit with the locals, and it was _always_ busy. Which helped the work days fly by for Emmet.

A new group of college students who he hadn’t seen in the area before came in, just before lunch, talking and laughing loudly as they do, as they pulled up a seat to one of the free tables.

 _Time to get to work_ , he thought, as he strolled over to them.

“What can I get you?” Emmet asked with his signature smile, writing pad in hand.

Their order was fairly straight forward, a mix of several of their house drinks and shakes. After double checking that everything was correct, he gave a nod and headed to the kitchen as per usual. As he continued to work behind the counter, making each drink in quick succession, he couldn’t help but overhear their conversation.

“I mean, can you believe it?” One of them said to another.

“No way, for real? A _crush_?” The student opposite responded, hand over their mouth.

“What kind of person could possibly capture the heart of _Rex Dangervest_?”

Emmet slipped, nearly spilling the contents of the glass he was carrying all over the counter. He placed it down promptly, regaining his composure.

W-what? Rex... liked someone?

Emmet couldn’t make heads or tails of his sudden influx of mixed emotions that had overcome him.

He was happy that his best friend liked someone, but also curious as to who it might be, but also sad that it would never be... him.

Could they really be talking about Rex-- as in, his best friend Rex, who he most definitely _did not_ have a _unbelievably huge one-sided crush_ on...?

He swallowed the lump in his throat, attempting to bring his attention back to his work. The last thing he wanted was to screw up his order or get yelled at by Lucy again. She could be surprisingly scary when she got upset.

“Do you know who it is?” The third person asked with excitement.

Oh no.

That was the last thing he wanted to know. He hoped they didn’t have an answer. Especially if it turned out to be a mutual friend. He’d hate for his personal one-sided affection to ruin a friendship. More importantly, he wanted his best friend to be happy, regardless of his personal feelings.

Emmet shook his head, returning to his task at hand. He was still on the clock, and still had work to do. The order for their table was now complete, anyway.

He picked up the tray, carrying it in both hands as they refused to cooperate with him and continued to shake.

_Don’t freak out. Get yourself together!_

He reached the table with a smile and a nod, removing one hand from the tray to reach for the first drink. However, before he could read out the order, he was interrupted.

“Yeah, their name’s _Emmet_. Can you believe that?”

Within seconds, every single member of the table was drenched in at least one kind of drink, as a stunned and embarrassed Emmet stood there silently in shock. Everyone jumped with surprise at their sudden state, letting out a swear or two as the attempted to get away from the table as it continued to drip from all corners.

He... what?

Emmet blinked as his thoughts tried to process the sudden very _very_ important information it had just gathered.

...Him? No... that couldn’t be right!

There... must be some kind of mistake.

He knew Rex, better than anyone. He was so _sure_ he didn’t bat for the same team, let alone go for someone like himself.

Well, _shit_.

Emmet continued to stare in awe, a mix of surprise at what he’d heard, and complete shock at the mess he had made on the table, and over all of the guests seated there.

Then reality hit him.

“Sorry!” He scrambled in his flustered state, “I’ll just-- get something for you.”

The student closest to him placed a gentle hand on his shoulder with a calm smile, “Nah, it’s okay mate, We’ll just--”

They stopped mid-sentence, noting Emmet’s name tag for a minute, before seemingly forgetting what they were just saying a moment ago. The man’s demeanour suddenly shifted to be that of someone who had found themself in an uncomfortable situation.

“W-we’ll just be off then!” They said rather loudly, collecting their group of friends in a hurry as they found their way out the door, almost tripping over each other as they left.

“God, he’s going to _kill_ me!” Emmet heard one of them yell from outside.

What... what just happened? Was that... real?

_Oh god._

Emmet continued to stare at the mess he had made, and the group of customers that he’d just lost. Lucy was not going to be happy about that.

“Emmet!”

Just as he had suspected, right on time. He turned to see Lucy rushing over with the cleaning supplies in hand.

“What happened?” She asked with concern, “Are you okay? You... don’t look so good.”

“Y-yeah, just slipped is all. I’m fine,” he reassured her, taking the mop from her hands, “I’ll get this cleaned up.”

She gave him a curious glance before heading back to her office. He got to work, trying his hardest to focus on anything that wasn’t _Rex_ and failing miserably.

What had he gotten himself in to?

He wanted to just... sit in a corner and cover his face. He hoped no one else noticed the constant blush on his features that now refused to disappear, no matter how hard he willed it to go away.

This day couldn’t possibly get _any_ worse, he thought to himself.

And then, it did.

He had managed to drop and destroy three plates and two glasses, proceeded to mess up every consecutive order he took down, tripped and spilled yet another few drinks, and forgot to give at least one table their bill.

At this rate, he was going to lose his job before his shift was over.

Emmet shook his head, his attention moving to outside the store as the sound of a loud engine approached. It didn’t sound like any car he’d ever heard. How peculiar. Unless...

Oh no.

_Oh no._

There weren’t many people around here who had a motorcycle. He knew for a fact that Rex had recently purchased one, it was all he’d talked about for the last week. He also had a habit of dropping by when Emmet was working, sometimes just to keep him company in the quieter or later hours of the day, and other times to offer him a lift home.

Why of _all_ days did he have to turn up _now_?

Even though he was expecting it, the sound of the door chime still startled him, as he came face to face with Rex.

Emmet smiled, his posture turning tense as he gave a small wave.

“Hey, Em,” Rex greeted with a grin, “Wanna grab a bite to eat?” He offered.

Emmet averted his gaze almost immediately, taking the opportunity to check the time. He could swear the time was moving painfully slow, all events of the day considered, and found it was still nowhere near the end.

“I-- I’m still on the clock for another hour,” he shuffled on his feet nervously, trying his best to stop his constant stuttering, “But I can g-get you something if you want..?”

The older man chuckled, “A coffee would be great. You know the way I like it,” he added with a wink, before turning to take a seat at an empty table.

Emmet felt as if he died and went to heaven.

He couldn’t take much more of this.

Right, back to work. One coffee. That’s easy. There’s _no possible way_ he could mess this up. His usual was... twenty-five sugars and a creamer. Or, was it twenty-five creamers and a hint of sugar? Or... decaf? Half strength?

Crap.

It didn’t end up mattering in the end, as he proceeded to overdo the coffee beans and burn the milk. He groaned in defeat-- almost feeling as if he should just give up now before he broke something else.

He felt as if his ears were working overtime. That, and the fact that the diner was practically empty and rather quiet, being not too far off closing time now.

He couldn’t help but overhear the conversation between Lucy and Rex.

“I’m sorry about Emmet, he’s been like this most of the day,” Lucy said, sounding frustrated.

“Is he... okay? He seems a little preoccupied,” Rex noted.

“No idea,” she gave him a tired look, “Feel free to take him off my hands.”

Emmet wondered if it was possible to die from embarrassment.

_Have some faith in me, Lucy._

He continued to stare at the complete mess of a drink he had made with contemplation. There was _no way_ he could serve this. Did he risk making another one and messing that up too? At that point, he’d probably have to start paying for all of these ruined drinks.

Emmet flinched as a hand rested on his back.

“Go on, you can leave early,” Lucy offered with a grin, “You’re ride’s waiting.”

His mouth opened to say something, before snapping shut. Words were really not his strong suit at this point. He nodded in thanks, taking off his apron and folding it away neatly.

This was it. The moment of truth.

He didn’t want to leave-- the thought of being left alone with Rex made him feel like his heart was going to jump into his throat.

“Let’s go,” the older man said with a smile, wrapping his arm casually around Emmet as they headed outside.

His breath hitched unintentionally at the close contact. He needed to get his shit together before he did or said something _really_ embarrassing.

Rex reached for the helmet resting on the motorcycle’s handlebar, pulling out his gloves from inside and placing them in his pocket. He walked over to Emmet, putting the helmet onto his head gently, and doing up the strap underneath.

Emmet tried his hardest not to blush, with Rex and his hands so close to him, touching his neck in a _totally normal friendly way-- stop over thinking it!_

“D-don’t you need to wear it?” Emmet asked in a panic.

“Nah, I don’t have a spare, and there’s no way I’m letting you on without one,” he answered as he pulled his hands back.

Rex turned back to his bike, hopping on the front and kicking up the stand. “Come on, hop on,” he gestured behind him.

The younger man shuffled over, hands fumbling as he interrogated the bike. The confusion on his face must have been obvious, as Rex reached over to him.

“Here,” he said, holding on to one of Emmet’s hands, “Use my shoulder for leverage, put your foot on the back pedal, and throw your leg over.”

Emmet nodded nervously, doing as he said, falling clumsily onto the seat. He was pressed impossibly close to Rex-- he wondered if the other could feel how violently his heart was beating in his chest. He watched the older man put on his gloves, tightening the strap on each. He glanced over his shoulder with a grin, reaching back for Emmet’s hands, pulling them around his waist.

“Hold on tight,” He instructed, starting up the bike.

The noise of the engine drowned out all other sounds, Emmet bringing his attention to the man he was practically hugging in front of him. His long brown hair was flying wildly in the wind as the zipped down the street towards his apartment building. He couldn’t deal with it-- with Rex-- he was far too handsome and charismatic for his own good. Emmet wondered if he’d caught on to his nervous state of constant stuttering and blushing.

He hoped not.

At least for now, until he could figure out if this was a dream or reality.

The trip to Emmet’s house was rather brief, much to his disappointment. He’d never ridden on a motorcycle before, and he’ll admit, he enjoyed an excuse to hold Rex close. It made him nervous-- every time he accelerated, he held on tight as to not fall back, and every time he slowed down, his weight was pushed forward onto the other man.

Rex didn't appear to complain.

When they arrived, Emmet stayed as he was-- mostly as an excuse not to let go, and also because he had no idea if it was safe to disembark. Rex turned his head, gently patting Emmet’s thigh as a sign it was safe to do so.

He scrambled off a little too quickly, undoing the borrowed helmet and returning it to its owner with a lopsided smile.

“W-well I’ll see you later,” Emmet said abruptly, turning to face the door, hands desperately fumbling with his keys as they refused to go in the lock one too many times.

He could feel Rex’s eyes on him as he finally let himself inside. What he didn’t expect, was a hand to catch the door, preventing him from closing it as the older man let himself inside.

“What’s wrong?” Rex asked with concern, head tilting to the side, “I’ve done something, haven’t I?”

Emmet’s eyes went wide as he struggled to get his mouth to cooperate with him, “No! No, sorry. I’m just-- not feeling too well, is all.”

Rex raised an eyebrow, not appearing to believe him, “You sure?” he asked, placing his hand to Emmet’s forehead rather suddenly.

He couldn't stop himself from flinching back at the contact, unintentionally. “S-sorry! You surprised me.”

The gaze he received was stern, tense, as if trying to read through Emmet’s disguise of nerves and fidgets. He felt the blush creep up his neck, turning his entire face a deep red.

Rex looked as if he was about to say something, before being interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing, capturing his attention. He looked down at it with a sigh, unimpressed, before answering it, “One sec,” he commented as he took a few steps away.

Emmet watched him, realising he had been holding his breath for the last few minutes.

He was so tense in Rex’s presence-- he hoped the other left soon, before Emmet lost control of himself, and did or said something stupid. If he hadn't already.

Whoever was on the other end of the line sounded upset, shouting-- Rex pulled the phone away from his ear with an annoyed look, before bringing it back.

“You _what_?” He yelled, perhaps louder than he had intended. He pinched the bridge of his nose, anger now prevalent on his features. He sighed again, ending the one-sided phone call a few seconds later.

Emmet shuffled between his feet again, hands intertwined in front of him. He felt as if the mood in the room had darkened. He desperately wanted to ask if the other was okay, but was sure he wouldn’t get the right words out.

Then, Rex turned to him, and looked... embarrassed. _Ashamed_ even. It was-- _weird_. Emmet had never seen the other man with such a face before.

“I can’t believe this,” the older man mumbled, running a hand down his face, “I’m sorry, Em. You... weren’t supposed to find out like this.”

Emmet licked his lips, mouth feeling dry, “So it’s... true, then?”

“Yeah, I... didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” Rex seemed unable to look him in the eye, “I understand if you don’t feel the same.”

“It’s not that. I just... don’t get it,” he shrugged.

Rex blinked, “Get what?”

“Well... me. Why me?” Emmet said, taking a few steps forward, “I’m an awkward nerd who plays video games and works at a diner. I’m nothing special.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, kiddo,” he smiled in response, raising his hands cautiously to cup Emmet’s cheeks, “You’re adorable.”

He bit his lip-- that handsome smirk was going to be the end of him.

Emmet hesitated, bringing his own hands up to cover the others’. He still couldn’t believe this was happening. He was so sure he’d wake up at any minute to find this all to be some cruel dream.

Rex’s gaze flickered to his lips, then back up to his eyes, “Can I... kiss you?” He asked with only a _hint_ of nervousness.

It took a few moments for Emmet to gain the courage to respond, nodding as he did.

As Rex closed the distance between them, he closed his eyes. He felt lips brush against his with hesitation, before partaking in a chaste kiss. It was surprisingly gentle, causing Emmet to let out a pleasant sound at the feeling, and stifling a giggle as he felt the other’s stubble brush against his cheek.

Emmet pulled away slowly, unable to hold back the massive grin on his face, as he felt all his worries disperse.

This was... nice.

“Was gonna ask you this weekend,” Rex said as he leant forward once more, nuzzling into Emmet’s hair. “After taking you somewhere nice on the bike.”

Emmet wrapped his hands around the other, enjoying the body warmth and comfort he felt in the embrace. After a few blissful minutes, he pulled back, so as to see Rex’s face up close.

“We should still go. It sounds like fun,” Emmet offered, barely containing his excitement.

Rex responded with another one of his all-too-handsome signature grins.

“It’s a date.”


End file.
